Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +2

[ORRFForever]

I went to see Richard Jewell last night and the theater was very busy. Of course, it was cheapo Tuesday, but it might also be an indication of "word of mouth" because everyone, including the lady friend I was with, loved it.

Spoiler

I did think what they did to the female reporter was unfair. Unless they had definite proof she traded sex for info, keeping it out of the movie would have been the right thing to do.

 

[ORRFForever]

Uncut Gems (2019) Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie 8B

According to Henry David Thoreau, most men lead lives of quiet desperation, but not Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler). His desperation screams so loudly that it is off the charts. Uncut Gems is basically a 2 hour, 15 minute nervous breakdown. The pace starts out frenzied and stays that way with even a couple of quieter interludes with his wife still fraught with peril. Howard is a jeweler and he has acquired an uncut opal that like everything else in his life isn't quite as good as it seems. He is addicted to gambling in a way that places everything in his life in jeopardy, but he doesn't care--he's all-in on every hand. I haven't seen a crime movie with this level of self-destruction since Abel Ferrera's The Bad Lieutenant. Harvey Keitel is brilliant in that movie, as is Sandler here. Before this one, I have never liked an Adam Sandler movie, including Punch Drunk Love, so he's obviously not getting any homer points from me. The highest praise I can give him is I don't think prime Pacino or De Niro cr Torturro could have done a much better job than he does here. Some people will find this movie grating and annoying--everybody is talking over everybody else almost all the time; the stakes start ridiculously high and only get higher; and much of the acting is done into one cell phone or another. I should add that former NBA superstar Kevin Garnett provides a surprisingly capable performance as a self-centred basketball player (you might think "well, not much of a stretch" but he is really very good). As well, in the middle of this maelstrom there are more funny moments than in any Adam Sandler comedy that I am aware of, which this definitely is not. Uncut Gems is like going for a white-knuckle ride in a super-fast muscle car with bad shock absorbers and a drunk behind the wheel.


Best of '19 so far

1) Parasite, Bong, South Korea
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sciamma, France
3) An Elephant Sitting Still, Hu, China
4) Hope, Sodahl, Norway
5) Pain & Glory, Almodovar, Spain
6) Vitalina Varela, Costa, Portugal
7) The Irishman, Scorsese, United States
8) The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, Tailfeathers/Hepburn, Canada
9) The Lighthouse, Eggers, United States
10) Uncut Gems, Safdie brothers, US

Re : "Before this one, I have never liked an Adam Sandler movie, including Punch Drunk Love"

Whoa!

Punch Drunk Love almost saved my marriage... almost.

Re "in the middle of this maelstrom there are more funny moments than in any Adam Sandler comedy that I am aware of"

???

Forgive the question but.... Other than when his kid had to go to the bathroom, what was funny?

I'm not asking in a aggressive way, I'm just trying to remember. The only laugh I remember was the bathroom/apartment scene because, if someone knocked on my door asking to use the bathroom, I'd say "NO!!!", too.

Re : I haven't seen a crime movie with this level of self-destruction since Abel Ferrera's The Bad Lieutenant."

The Gambler perhaps?

**

Other than that, I agree. It's a heck of a ride and Sandler is great.

Also, the women in this movie were awesome - for a guy. His girlfriend is beautiful (what a bum!) and his wife, who I'd never seen before, while "different looking", is gorgeous and sexy. I spent a good chunk of this movie wondering which one I'd choose.

 

[NyQuil]

I finally got around to see Knives Out with Mrs_NyQuil.

Clearly a lot of the appeal is the nostalgic nature of a "whodunit" in the style of an Agatha Christie super-sleuth with a raft of motivated suspects, but they managed to modernize it in an accessible way that is somewhat reminiscent to what Rian Johnson did in Brick. The alt-right nazi kid was a nice touch.

I was particularly impressed with Daniel Craig's clearly enthusiastic absorption of the role of Benoit Blanc, his accent and mannerisms don't falter for an instant throughout the entire film. In a very crowded environment of detectives and sleuths throughout history, with a wide array of affectations and gimmicks, it's increasingly difficult to stand out and yet he manages to do so. The clip in the car where he's listening to his phone on earphones was amusing.

Ana de Armas (who was delightful in Blade Runner 2049) brings a vulnerable yet strong character as Marta to the fore, bringing the audience along for the ride as Blanc's thoughts remain elusive. Playing on white people's attitudes towards minorities (Paraguay? Ecuador? Brazil?), she navigates the twists and turns of the film with believable emotion yet understated grace.

Spoiler

If I have one gripe about her performance, it's that she was almost too sympathetic to the point where it was hard to conceive of her as being one of the suspects. In this kind of film, all options should be on the table.

The rest of the ensemble cast clearly enjoyed their roles, managing to make the most of the limited lines and screen time they are given, and allowing a film that is largely based around dialogue to fly by. It had an almost Wes Anderson "Royal Tennenbaums" type quality to it, albeit without the absurdity that his films bring to the table. Christopher Plummer in particular sparkles in his role, endearing you to him almost immediately.

Johnson mentioned that, depending on the financial success and level of interest, he'd be interested in doing another film with Benoit Blanc. I'd certainly watch another one. I'm a sucker for Columbo, Maigret, Poirot and Wallander and I'll gladly add Blanc to their hallowed ranks.

Knives Out probably earns a little additional undeserved approval as a nostalgic tribute (much as in my mind, the new Mad Max film did), but it's still a fun romp cooked up around a clever yet simple plot.

 

[ORRFForever]

I finally got around to see Knives Out with Mrs_NyQuil.

How is Mrs. NyQuil?

 

[NyQuil]

How is Mrs. NyQuil?

?

 

[kihei]

Re : "Before this one, I have never liked an Adam Sandler movie, including Punch Drunk Love"

Whoa!

Punch Drunk Love almost saved my marriage... almost.

Re "in the middle of this maelstrom there are more funny moments than in any Adam Sandler comedy that I am aware of"

???

Forgive the question but.... Other than when his kid had to go to the bathroom, what was funny?

I'm not asking in a aggressive way, I'm just trying to remember. The only laugh I remember was the bathroom/apartment scene because, if someone knocked on my door asking to use the bathroom, I'd say "NO!!!", too.

Re : I haven't seen a crime movie with this level of self-destruction since Abel Ferrera's The Bad Lieutenant."

The Gambler perhaps?

**

Other than that, I agree. It's a heck of a ride and Sandler is great.

Also, the women in this movie were awesome - for a guy. His girlfriend is beautiful (what a bum!) and his wife, who I'd never seen before, while "different looking", is gorgeous and sexy. I spent a good chunk of this movie wondering which one I'd choose.

I thought there was a lot of dark humour in it intermittently:

Spoiler

The scene where no one could get the door open, for instance; the f***-up at the auction; the weird little troll jewelry that Garnett was momentarily curious about; and some of the rat-a-tat exchanges between various persons.

I'd be willing to bet, like a quarter, that the second time you see it, you will notice more humour.

Depends which The Gambler you are talking about. If you are referring to the more recent one with Mark Wahlberg, I disliked it thoroughly. If you are talking about the earlier one with James Caan, you have a better case but it predates The Bad Lieutenant by a couple of decades, so my statement would still not be in contradiction.

 

[ORRFForever]

I thought there was a lot of dark humour in it intermittently:

Spoiler

The scene where no one could get the door open, for instance; the ****-up at the auction; the weird little troll jewelry that Garnett was momentarily curious about; and some of the rat-a-tat exchanges between various persons.

I'd be willing to bet, like a quarter, that the second time you see it, you will notice more humour.

Depends which The Gambler you are talking about. If you are referring to the more recent one with Mark Wahlberg, I disliked it thoroughly. If you are talking about the earlier one with James Caan, you have a better case but it predates The Bad Lieutenant by a couple of decades, so my statement would still not be in contradiction.

Why didn't you like the most recent Gambler? I thought it was really well done and well acted. Even Marky Mark was terrific!

As for the humour you mentioned... it didn't do anything for me but I can see your point.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Why didn't you like the most recent Gambler? I thought it was really well done and well acted. Even Marky Mark was terrific!

As for the humour you mentioned... it didn't do anything for me but I can see your point.

The recent Gambler was piss poor. I haven't seen Caan's version. And the book is a masterpiece.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

I hadn't seen this thing since this since at least 25 years ago if not more. I think it was on Scifi once back in day

Saw it listed on Tubi and went ahead and watched it

It is nothing special nor is it bad at all. Fits in with the anthology films/series of era well

Only issue was it appeared they didn't bother to preserve this. The image had lots of scratches and poor quality thru out. Looking at YT it is same situation

All in all if your a Night Gallery fan this fits perfectly with it in tone/style

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire: 8/10 Great movie, great acting and great cinematography. Maybe the best movie of the year. Definitely top 3.

 

[ORRFForever]

Delete

 

[ORRFForever]

Use Me [2019] :

Guys are painfully stupid when it comes to sex. The smartest businessman in the world, who'd crush another businessman over the smallest missed detail in a contract, will happily spend hundreds of dollars to have a dancer bump and grind on his lap while his pretty wife sits at home. It doesn't make sense but, again, we're stupid and the fantasy is always better than reality.

Use Me is a mockumentary "thriller" (and I use that term loosely) about women who use sex to financially exploit men over the internet - think Cam Girl meets The Sting. Usually I wouldn't bother watching this kind of movie but it is currently 86% on Rotten Tomatoes . The movie is awful so I'm not sure who they paid to get those reviews.

My guess : The plot was pretty boy writer/director/lead actor Julian Shaw's fantasy and he decided to live it out by making this movie. And, while I'm sure he had a GREAT time being sexually exploited by beautiful women, the result is the most predictable movie of 2019 and a waste of 90 minutes.

2/10

 

[nameless1]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire: 8/10 Great movie, great acting and great cinematography. Maybe the best movie of the year. Definitely top 3.

I thought it is only so-so. The production value is there, and the acting is decent, but otherwise, everything feels flat for me.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

?

Yeah. That was weird.

 

[kihei]

I thought it is only so-so. The production value is there, and the acting is decent, but otherwise, everything feels flat for me.

Major disagreement on Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I thought the movie was virtually flawless. Every choice director Celine Sciamma made felt like the right one to me. Whatever way you want to cut it--style, characters, themes, editing, pace, visuals, whatever--there is nothing I would alter about it in any way, shape or form.

 

[ORRFForever]

Bombshell [2019] :

The most shocking part of Bombshell... how uninspiring and dull it is. Director Jay Roach was obviously incapable of directing anything with this kind of weight because only Charlize Theron shines.

3.5/10

 

[kihei]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Directed by J. J. Abrams 5A

The trilogy of trilogies is complete, and it almost comes as a relief. #s 7,8 and 9 seemed to me largely a reprise of the narrative that served #s 4, 5, 6 so well. So I was expecting anything too fresh and I didn't get it anyway. However, to be fair, The Rise of Skywalker gets the job done though not in any way that is especially noteworthy or overly exciting. Rey (Daisy Ridley) was running around a lot on her own, but I kind of lost track of what the purpose of all that was. Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaacs) kept hopping from one crisis to the next, but not in any fashion that had me on the edge of my seat or anything. As Kylo Ren, Adam Driver had some of the best moments, but it was like a whole bunch of scenes between him and Rey seemed exiled to the cutting room floor with the result that their big final scene together lacked any emotional punch whatsoever. The 3D and the visuals were often very alluring, but the movie, which seemed to rush its conclusion, was basically a soda pop that lacked any real fizz. I don't think this trilogy ever recovered from its lack of imagination and its doleful casting. I'm not talking about the decision to go with a young woman and a person of colour as two thirds of the "A" team. I thought that was a great move allowing more kids to become deeply invested in the story. The problem was Ridley and Boyega are both so bland, so free of anything approaching charisma that I never really could find it in me to care about their characters. As for the third member of the group, Oscar Isaacs, he is a fine actor but a convincing swashbuckler he ain't. Still, even after all this negativity, I still don't know why this movie is getting savaged in some quarters the way that it is. I guess I would call this movie adequate and leave it at that.

 

[nameless1]

Major disagreement on Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I thought the movie was virtually flawless. Every choice director Celine Sciamma made felt like the right one to me. Whatever way you want to cut it--style, characters, themes, editing, pace, visuals, whatever--there is nothing I would alter about it in any way, shape or form.

I have no issues with the technical side of the production either, but there is also nothing that stands out for me. Like you wrote a while back, this is the golden age of cinematography, so perhaps we as the audience are just spoiled. Overall, there is no connection, and the movie just does nothing for me. It is fine, and I do not regret that I put it on my itinerary, but that is about it.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Bumblebee - just like the other Transformers movies I might have seen (or not) this one will be forgotten in a matter of hours - 3/10

Frances Ha - Didn't really like nor the actors or the script, but it explores interesting enough relationships and it's well paced and sometimes beautifully shot - 5/10

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Directed by J. J. Abrams 5A

Still, even after all this negativity, I still don't know why this movie is getting savaged in some quarters the way that it is. I guess I would call this movie adequate and leave it at that.

I put my more detailed thoughts and reactions in the dedicated thread, but I’ll port my conclusion over...

It probably sounds like I hate it. I don’t. Just going on immediate gut here. I am disappointed and that’s saying something given I expected to be disappointed. If I were to grade it, maybe a C. Might improve with time. Might not. Better than the prequels without a doubt, but in the next tier up for me alongside Solo as “flawed but ok.” I’m always going to get a certain base level of pleasure from Star Wars and this achieves that. But it doesn’t really exceed it and the sadder thing to me is it doesn’t even attempt to try.

Look, I know these are all corporate made products. A lot of masters. A lot of hands. But it’s never felt more obviously like an engineered product than it does with The Rise of Skywalker. Similar to Solo, you feel the overlords molding this. Not a writer. Not a director. This isn’t a work of creatives. This is a series of corporate memos strung together to reach feature length.

 

[Arizonan God]

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (dir J.J. Abrams)

Well, as someone who loved The Last Jedi, I now understand how it's detractors felt. This is generally a soulless, cynical and overstuffed movie, full of the most eye-roll worthy fan service possible. It also has lots of fun adventurous moments and exciting action set pieces, but it's all just so bogged down by J.J. Abrams feeble attempt to please every wronged Star Wars fan out there. I also found the ending to be unsatisfying and almost a little bit depressing, and the plot is so convoluted that I stopped caring about it 30 minutes into the movie.

Oh well. At least it's over. For now.

3/10

 

[Arizonan God]

Use Me [2019] :

Guys are painfully stupid when it comes to sex. The smartest businessman in the world, who'd crush another businessman over the smallest missed detail in a contract, will happily spend hundreds of dollars to have a dancer bump and grind on his lap while his pretty wife sits at home. It doesn't make sense but, again, we're stupid and the fantasy is always better than reality.

Use Me is a mockumentary "thriller" (and I use that term loosely) about women who use sex to financially exploit men over the internet - think Cam Girl meets The Sting. Usually I wouldn't bother watching this kind of movie but it is currently 86% on Rotten Tomatoes . The movie is awful so I'm not sure who they paid to get those reviews.

My guess : The plot was pretty boy writer/director/lead actor Julian Shaw's fantasy and he decided to live it out by making this movie. And, while I'm sure he had a GREAT time being sexually exploited by beautiful women, the result is the most predictable movie of 2019 and a waste of 90 minutes.

2/10

Dare I even ask where you find this stuff?

 

[ORRFForever]

Dare I even ask where you find this stuff?

It's on line - right besides the new Star Wars movie.

In my defence, I would NOT have watched if it wasn't for the 86% on RT.

 

[ORRFForever]

Bombshell has officially bombed - $1.8M on Friday night. WOW! That's LOW.

The rule of thumb : For a movie to break even, they need to bring in 3 times the Budget - which was $32M. If that's true, Bombshell won't even come close.

***

Cats, which had a budget of $95M, only brought in $2.6M. Double WOW!

Looks like Star Wars is sucking all the oxygen out of the room - $90M.

The reviews for all three were lousy.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Well, as someone who loved The Last Jedi, I now understand how it's detractors felt.

That's too bad. I'm of the few who thought TLJ was top-end (maybe second) in the SW saga. I'm not expecting anything from this type of films, but thought it still was pretty fun and really not as dumb as they normally turn out to be. I thought this last one would end up pretty much the same.